Eric J. Perkins
More than a decade ago, I had a coworker with an older child warn me to never attend a meeting of the Parent Teacher Organization/Association (I’m just going to call them PTAs from here on out).
“They’ll suck you in, and you’ll never escape!” she said. I don’t think she’d ever actually been to a PTA meeting before, but she’d seen movies. When was the last time you saw a PTA mentioned in a movie and it was actually in a good context?
As part of my “research” for this column, I watched the 2016 suburban comedy hit, “Bad Moms.” The PTA plays a central role, and the film got at least two things wrong and one right — at least based on my 10 years of working with parent-teacher groups in Belmont (I did not listen to that coworker).
Lie #1: The PTA president is a power-mad despot
I challenge you to find any movie that depicts the PTA president as anything other than the antagonist. In my time as a board member of parent-teacher groups at Butler Elementary and Chenery Upper Elementary, I have worked with several presidents, and they have been some of the kindest, hardest working, and most selfless people I have met in my 16 years as a Belmont resident.
A partial list includes: Barbara Bulfoni, Meg Moriarty, Stephanie Crement, Cortney Elderidge, Kara Sassone, Laura Castelli. If some of these names sound familiar it’s because they are all women who have done a lot for Belmont over the years.
Being a PTA president is a lot of responsibility, and the people who take it on are frequently squeezing this role into myriad other full-time duties. There’s nothing power-mad about them. They just get things done.
Lie #2: PTA meetings are very well-attended
When a last-minute “emergency” PTA meeting was held in “Bad Moms,” I laughed at something that was not meant to be funny: about 100 parents showed up for the meeting! At most of the open PTA meetings I’ve attended, we’d be happy to have 10 parents show up.
Belmont School Superintendent Jill Geiser spoke at one important Chenery PTO meeting last year, and three parents who weren’t board members attended (and one of them was School Committee Chair Meg Moriarty). Even though our PTAs do work that benefits all Belmont students, the vast majority of that work is done by a relatively small number of parents.
A Truth: The PTA is pretty much all moms.
In all the PTA scenes in the movies, there is not a dad in sight. That, sadly, is pretty close to reality. I have worked with some dads on PTAs over the years, but we are rare. When the Chenery PTO co-presidents sent out a survey at the end of last year to recruit volunteers for the 2024-25 school year, 20 people responded. All of them were moms.
I wish I knew why nearly 50% of the parents in Belmont have self-selected not to volunteer for PTA work. Perhaps the movie depictions have influenced them? I would love to see this ratio get better.
Many of the Gen X and Millenial parents in Belmont moved to town, at least partially because of its successful school district. What many of us don’t learn until after we’ve moved is that Belmont actually has considerably fewer dollars to spend per student than many of the surrounding districts.
Belmont’s students succeed despite fewer tax dollars spent and larger class sizes, in large part due to dedicated educators and parent involvement. PTA work is critical, as is the support of what I think of as the district-wide PTA, the Foundation for Belmont Education (FBE).
Melissa McKenna, current FBE co-president, confirmed my impression that many of the organization’s board and committee members were previously involved in a parent-teacher organization.
If you’ve been thinking your local PTA or FBE doesn’t need you because they “seem like they’re good on volunteers,” I can assure you, they need all the help they can get. Many folks who are volunteering are pulling double or triple duty. There will be open board positions, committee positions, and event coordinator positions at every school. I know for sure Chenery is looking for a co-president!
As school starts, take the opportunity to get involved by checking out your local PTA website. Giving money is always helpful, but giving time can make an even bigger impact on the schools and our students.
Eric J. Perkins writes about Gen X for The Belmont Voice. This is the first in an occasional series about volunteer opportunities in Belmont.